Its Hard to Live in The City
by DustMarauder
Summary: Title is from the Albert Hammond Jr. Song. Lily, James, Sirius, Remus etc, are transferred to an elite New York Private School on a mission from Dumbledore, to find muggles that they can trust in the fight against Voldemort. But what else will they find?
1. Preface

**_AN: I own nothing. Read, review :)_**

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><p><em><strong>Preface<strong>_

Lily tiptoed down the granite stairs of the girls dormitory, bouncing lightly from foot to foot whilst constantly glancing behind her to make sure none of the other girls had noticed her leaving. She pushed open the door to the common room as the red and gold candles lit up, illuminating the room and throwing every surface into relief. Quickly, she closed the door to the staircase and made it to the portrait of the fat lady within a matter of moments. Pushing her open, Lily heard a shrill comment of annoyance.

"Where do you think you're going, at this hour?" her voice called as the young girl ignored her, her fiery red hair dancing behind her as she left. "Miss Evans!" the fat lady shrieked, but again, she simply pretended not to hear her.

The entrance to Dumbledore's office was on the sixth floor, down a corridor and behind a large gargoyle that often chatted to Lily. Tonight, though, he simply waited for the password (_lemon pop_) and let me in – Dumbledore wanted me there right away. His owl had seemed urgent and rushed, but when she entered his office, he was not only cool, calm and collected – he was also not alone.

"Welcome, Miss Evans," the white bearded man nodded at her, smiling discreetly as if he knew a secret which she didn't.

Lily smiled back, and recognised the back of the head of the other boy in the office – who else had hair that unruly and spiky? But she still wished, with all her heart, that it wasn't him, that James Potter was in his dormitory, sound asleep, and that in front of her was a Hufflepuff boy she had never met, or a Ravenclaw ex student. Heck, she'd even take greasy haired Severus Snape over James Potter, but that was wishful thinking on her part. As soon as Dumbledore had uttered her name, his head had snapped back, and of course, Lily found herself face to face with the leader of the marauders, the notorious Prongs.

"You are probably wondering why I sent you the owl so late, Miss Evans. I am sorry to have done so, and I hope that you did not think I mistrust you, but no one outside of Gryffindor must know about this meeting."

Lily nodded and took the seat next to James. "I understand, sir. But, sorry sir, why are we out so late? I almost got caught by Filch on my way down."

"Filch could not have tarnished your record anyway, Miss Evans. As of tonight, you will not need to worry about being out after curfew. Yourself, and Mr. Potter, have been appointed as Head Girl and Boy. As you know, the Ballard twins have returned home already, and I needed to appoint next years heads immediately."

Lily gasped, half in joy, half in shock. She'd known she would get head girl – it wasn't that she was conceited, but just that not a single other 6th year wanted or qualified for the position. On the other hand, James Potter was head boy – something he didn't want, nor did he qualify for. Lily couldn't say anything in front of Dumbledore, though. She had too much respect for him to let out the fact that she thought he was a complete and utter psychopath based on that one decision alone, but the smirk on his face made her wonder if he already knew how she felt about the situation. She also hadn't expected to get the position so soon, but the two twins who had held the positions all year had recently lost their parents to dark wizards, and had left Hogwarts early.

"So thats why you called us here, Professor?" James wondered out loud, a slightly quizzical look on his face; masked by confusion, relief and the look he always got when he was plotting something.

"Partially, yes," Dumbledore replied quietly. "Feel free to refuse me, either of you, but as you know, Lord Voldemort is on the rise."

Both students nodded, and James glanced at Lily nervously. The red-head's stomach flipped in worry – she was a muggle born, and Voldemort was looking to become the most powerful dark wizard in history thus far.

"Last week, Voldemort's followers murdered an entire bus full of muggle students in the south of France. It is a tragedy," Dumbledore acknowledged. "We have connections with the muggle government here in Wales, as well as in England and Europe. However, the United States, possibly the largest superpower on an international scale, is not safe from his wrath. However, their government is...uncertain. We do not know who we can trust, who we can believe and who we can rely on to feed us information."

Lily nodded, unsure where the conversation was going.

"Tonight, if you agree, you are to return to your dormitories and inform the other Gryffindors of the proposition I am about to make to you. I want six of you to travel to New York City, and to attend one of the most elite private colleges in the world for the next three months, and then spending the summer there also. There, you will befriend the sons and daughters of senators, of businessmen, and most importantly, you will be in the same form as the daughter of the US President. I need you to find out who we can trust, and who we cannot. If we have any chance of saving the muggle population, we need eyes and ears on the inside. Will you do this for me?" Dumbledore asked.

James nodded instantly, and Lily paused for a few moments, catching her breath before agreeing. "Of course sir," she shrugged, smiling. "It'll be great. But, and pardon my rudeness sir, why can only six of us go? I don't want to leave one of the girls out," she added.

"Curiosity is not a sin, Lily, however unfortunately as Peter, Mary, Alice and Frank are all underage, they will have to remain behind."

James groaned. "Sir, you cant split up the marauders! Peter-"

"-Will be just fine without you," Lily hissed. "This is for the greater good, Potter," she added, noticing through the corner of her eye that Dumbledore winced as she spoke.

"So!" Dumbledore exclaimed, regaining his composure after a moment. "We are in agreement, yes?"

"Yes," James and Lily replied in unison – possibly the only time they had agreed on something together.

"Good," Dumbledore smiled at them both. "You leave tonight. The portkey will be departing from the boys dormitory in an hour. Collect your friends, collect your trunks, and I will see you soon." And with that, together they rose, leaving Dumbledore's office. Lily was slightly ahead of James, as he watched her red hair dance behind her. Six months with Lily Evans. Oh boy.

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	2. Plans?

**Plans?**

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><p>"Remind me again," Sirius said, fidgeting with his silver belt buckle and inhaling deeply. "Why we couldn't just floo there? Or take a portkey all the way there. I mean, Dumbledore said we could take a portkey to the airport, and then he makes us get on one of these...these...these plan things?" he asked incredulously.<p>

"Its a plane, Black. Not a plan," Lily snapped from the row in front of him, annoyed. "And because we're being picked up from the airport by our exchange siblings, and we need to look tired and jet lagged and unhappy. We need to make this seem as real as possible until we find the people we can trust. For the good of Hogwarts and the good of our families and friends."

Sirius groaned again but nodded, relaxing into his armchair and propping his feet up onto the seat in front of him.

Remus groaned and spun his head around, glaring at his best friend. "Padfoot!" he exclaimed. Sirius simply smirked and left his feet up, whilst Remus turned back around and closed his eyes, sighing.

Next to Remus, was Lily and then Marisa, Lily's best friend. Her long brown hair was draped over her shoulders and her blue eyes sparkled under the reading light she'd turned on. Her long fingers turned a page of her book and she giggled at a joke she'd just read. Through the cracks between the seats, Sirius watched her, sighing deeply.

Instead of spending the entire 12 hour flight complaining to himself about the girl he had once supposedly cared about so much, he thought he'd enjoy the copious amounts of alcohol that his winning smile could get him. Next to Sirius, James had to admit, the scruffy teen did look like he was 21, and the tattoo across his chest, exposed by his black singlet, seemed to do the trick for the busty blonde air hostess, who seemed not to care that he was ordering gin and tonics at 11 in the morning. _White_, the tattoo read – a personal joke to show true defiance from his family. After he'd gotten that, Sirius knew there was no way his family would let him back home. To say that Sirius didn't particularly enjoy living in the Black household would be a severe understatement. Sirius' family was his only true enemy, for now. He'd always sworn that they would be the death of him one day, so Mr and Mrs Potter had been so relieved when Sirius had finally moved into their home in the south of England.

Next to James sat June, a 6th year student who had transferred to Hogwarts when she had moved to England from Australia 4 years prior. Her enigmatic personality had pushed her straight into Lily and Marisa's tight friendship, and the three had been inseparable ever since. June was nowhere as soft and girly as her name sounded. A skilled shapeshifter, June's hair was, today, a reddish purple, vibrant, with black streaks throughout. Through her left upper ear cartilage, there were four large diamond studded sleepers, and she also had a small, onyx nose stud.

Out of the girls, James had always gotten along best with June. She was pretty, in a weird sort of way, and understood better than even his own closest friends, why James liked Lily Evans so much.

James sighed, watching the seat in front of him intently as Lily's bright red hair dangled over her seat back and she laughed, whispering between herself and Marissa.

"Excuse me, ma''am," another, male attendant said, speaking directly to Lily. From the way she dressed – wearing a simple black singlet, which James had noticed hugged her every curve and ran smoothly over her tightly toned stomach, and a pair of blue jeans - it was obvious Lily was the most mature in the group, and their "leader," of sorts.

"Yes?" Lily replied, in her melodic voice, something James had not forgotten since the moment she had spoken to him on the train in first year.

"Ma'am we have a new feature on these planes – you can actually turn your seats around to create a circle, if you and your friends would like to talk." Lily nodded a thank you and glanced back at the row behind her. Cut June out of their conversation, or have to deal with Potter all day. She sighed, and decided that it was unfair to June if she was stuck alone next to Potter and Black for 12 hours straight.

Herself, Remus and Marisa stood, stepping out of the aisle before flipping their seats around to open their space up. Sirius groaned at the loss of his footrest, but then grinned. "Its just like the Hogwarts Express, guys!" he exclaimed happily.

Lily sighed again, realising that this would be a long flight. She'd heard that on some of the European flights, they were developing TVs and movies that people could watch to pass the time, but that didn't exist here. All they had was one TV about 5 rows ahead, playing some crappy movie.

James now found himself face to face with the girl he had been unable to stop asking out for the past two years. He didn't know what had happened really – one day, in the summer between fourth and fifth year, when Sirius had come to stay for a couple of weeks, they had been lounging out in James' infinity pool, when it struck him odd that he was thinking about a fiery red headed girl – about Lily Evans. He had turned to Sirius and grinned, proudly stating, "Sirius, one day I'm going to marry Lily Evans." His best friend had laughed so hard he had fallen off his pool chair before sniggering and teasing James. At first, everyone thought he'd been kidding – the two had been at each others throats since the day they met, but James had realised it was much more than petty arguments. He kept fighting with her because there was no other way she would speak to him, no other way she would get angry, and blush furiously, and have her emerald eyes sparkle with tears before stomping away unnecessarily. Remus' theory was that Lily's body was so fit and toned because she spent a quarter of her time in classes, a quarter sleeping, and the other half running from James Potter, not leaving much time for meals and providing lots of healthy exercise – it was no easy feat running from someone with access to the Marauder's Map. If Lily knew about the map, she would probably destroy it in an instant and finally have a chance at privacy.

Secretly, James reckoned that Lily loved the attention he gave her. What girl wouldn't be ecstatic when orchids in beautiful vases showed up at your window once a week, and when self extinguishing candles lit up your room every now and then, just to make you feel warm and homely. Apparently, Lily Evans, which made her quite hated amongst many of Hogwarts' other fine young ladies. Between Black and Potter, the two most handsome young boys Hogwarts had seen in years, the first merely slept with all the most attractive girls in their own year and the year below, whilst the latter, who only wanted to find love, was pining for, in their opinion, a "stupid carrot top with no realisation of how lucky she is."

"This is such a long flight," June piped up after a eight hours of chatting, eating and sleeping at different intervals. "Can we play a game? Truth or dare?"

There were no objections, although Lily was hesitant for a few moments, before nodding agreement and deciding she would start the game.

"Remus," she began. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth," he replied nervously, shaking his sandy hair out of his eyes to look at the girl next to him.

"Have you..." she began to ask, pausing to think before continuing. "Ever fallen in love?"

June glanced down nervously, something which did not go unnoticed by Remus, who inhaled deeply before speaking. "Love? No. Love isn't for me." The girls gave him a quizzical look, but asking further questions was not allowed in the game, and so they continued. After a few more truths, and even more dares, the question landed on Sirius, who for the 4th time in a row, picked dare.

"I dare you to...get the flight attendants number," June smiled, pushing her hair behind her ear and grinning at him. Sirius shrugged.

"Too easy," he replied, looking at the stunning blonde hostess before looking back at June.

"Not that one, Sirius," June added, rolling her eyes. "The male one."

Sirius, never one to be embarrassed, shrugged and simply stood up, walking over to the tan, Italian male, whose shirt was tightly pressed against his defined chest, and whose tight black work pants showed more curve of the ass then Marisa's black leggings.

Within a few minutes, Sirius had returned to their seats, a number in hand, with a name scrawled across the top of the piece of paper. _Paolo,_ it said, in Sirius's untidy writing. The group burst into laughter, before Sirius turned towards Lily.

"Alright Evans, Truth or Dare."  
>"Hit me with a dare, Black," Lily said, feeling brave.<p>

The grey eyed boy thought for a moment or two, and then grinned. "I dare you make out with Paolo," he laughed. The girls all looked at him crossly.

"Sirius, thats just vulgar!" they complained.

"Alright, alright!" he said, rolling his eyes. "Just flirt with him incessantly, run your hands up and down his chest, wink a little – the regular!" Lily sighed and stood up, walking down the aisle. Returning after a few minutes, she also had a piece of paper in her hands, with his number on it.

"Looks like," she said, sitting back down, "_Paolo_ over there bats for both teams!" The group burst into laughter again. Lily, who had avoided asking James anything, finally decided to give into her curiousity.

"Potter, truth or dare?"

"Truth," James grinned, the first civil conversation he'd had with Lily in a while.

Lily hesitated, as if she wasn't sure what she wanted to ask, before working up her courage.

"Alright. Potter, why do you like me? Is it because I'm the only girl who doesn't want you, or is there a real reason?"

The entire group went silent, whilst June whispered, "I don't think you want to know the answer to that, Lil-"

"No," James interrupted. "I'll tell her. No, Lily, it isn't because you're 'the only girl who doesn't want me.' I'll admit, that is refreshing, but it isn't why I like you. Lily, I like you because you're the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my life. Yes, you have amazing hair and perfect skin, and legs that go on forever, but while all those things make you pretty, you have these amazing emerald green eyes which make you _beautiful_. They sparkle when you're happy, but the funny thing is that they sparkle even more when you're angry, which is the best part about fighting with you.

"I like you, because you are smart, loyal, honest, brave and strong. I like you because you spend hours in the common room, tutoring first years who are struggling, sacrificing your own free time and Hogesmeade weekends. I like you because you are innovative – Remus is always going on about how you have the best ideas at prefect meetings, and how organised and intelligent you are!

"I like you, because from the moment we first fought on the train to Hogwarts first year, I have not been able to stop thinking about you. It wasn't till I was 15 that I realised why that was – because I was falling for you. At first, I thought it was just hatred, but I realised that the only reason I argued with you so much was because you already hated me, and the only way you would talk to me was if I made you mad. I like that I cant hate you, even when you hate me, when you call me Potter instead of James and I find myself liking you even more, no matter how much it hurts that you cant even bring yourself to say my name.

"I like your habits – that you bite your nails when you're nervous, rub your earlobe when you're sad, tap your knees together when you're happy – everything. I know that I like you, Lily Evans, because from the day we met, I haven't been able to go a single day without hearing your voice, even if its occupied by screaming obscenities at me."

The group was silent. "Pott-James..." Lily whispered, shocked. "I'm...I don't know what to say."

"Just say you'll give me a chance!" James exclaimed, frustrated.

Lily shook her head. "I cant Pott-James. I'm sorry. This would never work." And with that, She rose, Remus and Marisa following her and turning their seats back around. Remus gave James an, "_I'm sorry_" look, and June slipped her hand down to grab James's, massaging his palm. The rest of the flight was experienced in total silence.

_Fantastic_, James thought sarcastically.

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